


Of Ink And Roses

by LuckyFairytales



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Miraculous, F/M, Oblivious Adrien, awkward marinette - Freeform, because my sunshine son deserves better, featuring semi supportive Gabriel Agreste, florist and tattoo parlor au, total trash fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2017-11-06
Packaged: 2018-12-18 02:17:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11864559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuckyFairytales/pseuds/LuckyFairytales
Summary: When the tattoo artist known as Ladybug wanders into his small flower shop, Chat Noir is almost instantly smitten. Meanwhile, Marinette is entirely too nervous around Adrien.  Alya would tell them what's going on, but it's more fun to watch them figure it out themselves.In which a "No Shop Talk" rule really screws with everything, but provides some good entertainment.





	1. The Exposition Chapter

**Author's Note:**

> So this is mostly just to get me back into writing regularly. Honestly, this is not my best work by a long shot, but it feels good to just write some self-indulgent, not too thought out, random fanfics sometimes. So here it is, the [Florist and Tattoo Artist AU](http://luckygirlworld.tumblr.com/post/154386832800/florist-and-tattoo-artist-au) I promised months ago on my Tumblr.
> 
> Chapter 1: Exposition Galore!

Once upon a time, in the city of Paris, there lived a girl who dreamed of one day becoming a fashion designer. One day, she came across a boy who was perfectly horrid. Before any introductions had been made on his first day in her class, she found him putting gum on her seat as her arch rival laughed at her misfortune. Angered by his actions, she refused to give him the time of day, even after she found out that he was the son of her favorite designer. Just because he was wealthy didn't mean he got to get away with doing whatever he pleased.

But then it was raining, she had to walk home, and there he was with a smile, an apology, and an umbrella.

No one had ever seen a girl fall so hard so fast. While she had never really been the type to stand up for herself (before meeting her now-best friend, that is), the level of awkward and tongue-tied nervousness she exhibited reached new heights. None of her sentences came out the way she meant them to, and even when she became more familiar with the boy, her cheeks never quite lost their blush when she was around him.

Everything he did had her enamored, but even as the years passed, their best friends started dating one another, and they all grew closer, the girl kept her feelings hidden. Eventually they all went their separate ways for university and internships, but they still tried to make time for one another at least once every other week. The group of four had forged a friendship that would truly last.

Unfortunately, with their lives so busy, their get-togethers became the only time that the friends had to just spend time with one another. After a couple of these outings were spent almost entirely agonizing over finals and fears about coming internships some years ago, a rule had been set into place: "No Shop Talk." None of them were to bring up what work they were doing, what internships they were applying to, or even complain about their bosses. This was, as they had all reminded each other of at one point or another, "strictly bonding time." Seeing as they had kept up this tradition for the past 5 years, this appeared to serve them well.

During one outing in particular the girl in question, one Marinette Dupain-Cheng, was the first at their meeting place. She was quick to find a table outside of the small cafe and quickly claimed it for her little crew. It had been a long week for her at her job interning at _Gabriel_ , but it was still a dream come true that she got to work at the studio of Gabriel Agreste. Even after years of friendship with his son, Gabriel Agreste was still her idol.

Naturally, thinking of Gabriel's son caused Marinette to smile wistfully. Briefly, she wondered if Adrien even knew that she was working for his family's business. It was strange, not knowing what he did for work. When she first fell in love with him that fateful rainy day, she had spent several weeks charting his every move and compiling a completed schedule of all of his activities. Now she didn't even know if he was even part of the business she worked for.

Well, one of the businesses. As most lowly interns in her position would do, Marinette had succumbed to the need of subsidizing her income. The idea had come from Alya, who spent her evenings and nights as a social media guru/receptionist for a rather interesting tattoo parlor in town, _Lucky Charm Tattoos._  According to Alya, it catered to a higher-end clientele than seedier parlors, and the entire place had an air of mystery about it as everyone who worked there masked their identity with _literal_ masks. After a couple of weeks of barely scraping together enough money for food, Alya had suggested that Marinette apply to be an artist. The designer was hesitant at first, but as it was unlikely for the gig to affect her career aspirations, she decided to go for it. Although it was a far cry from anything she had ever considered doing as a job, she had to admit that it was a lot of fun. Seeing her artwork sketched in permanent ink across the skin of so many satisfied customers was not only a thrill, but truly an honor. Working so close to her best friend was just an added bonus.

Speaking of Alya, she had just arrived, her boyfriend, Nino, in tow. The two had moved in together a couple of months ago to save on rent. Oddly enough, Marinette had yet to visit their "love nest," as she had playfully dubbed it when Alya had told her. She always meant to, but with her workload it was hard to find the time for such frivolities. It was one of the reasons that these get-togethers were so important to her; they were one of the only moments she had to just socialize with friends. Some days it felt like these gatherings were the only thing keeping her sane.

The last of their little group, the blond Adonis himself, arrived. Adrien smiled and waved toward the group, and a blush immediately spread across Marinette's face. Even after spending so much time around his charm, one look could melt her heart.

"About time you showed up Agreste!" Alya teased their friend.

"Alya! You just got here yourself," Marinette chastised.

Adrien, however, just laughed. "No sweat, Marinette. But I guess since I was the last to arrive it's my turn to order."

Marinette was quick to catch the sly look in Alya's eye and knew it would lead to no good.

"Actually," Alya began, sending a conspiratorial look to Nino, "I think Nino and I are going to treat everyone today. You guys just hang back and chat while we get the drinks!"

Nino shot her a confused look. Upon registering the situation, he was quick to rise from his seat. "Uh, right! Don't worry about it, dudes!"

With that, he looped his arm through that of a satisfied Alya, and the pair left, leaving one slightly confused Adrien and a nervous Marinette.

"I wonder what that was about," Adrien mused. Nino had been more distracted than usual lately, almost standoffish. It seemed there had to be some cause for it.

Marinette, however, was mentally cursing Alya for purposefully putting her in this situation. Although one would think that she would be used to it by now, since Alya attempted to push her and Adrien together every chance she got.

"N-no idea," she wound up saying. "Maybe it's a special occasion?"

"That might be it," he agreed, "So... How have you been?"

Marinette lit up. "Oh, um, good! A bit busy, honestly, but n-not too busy for you guys! I mean, a little busy with work and all but- oh, shoot. I'm not supposed to talk about that. I mean! There's lots of stuff to do that I get paid for and I spend a lot of time doing it! But while I'm doing it I'm mostly, uh, good."

Adrien cocked his head in a questioning glance. It always took him a little while to decipher what Marinette said when it was just the two of them. He wondered why she was always so nervous around him, but was unsure of how to ask. When he asked Nino, he was told it was all in his head. If only Nino could see their interactions. Then he would see what Adrien was talking about.

After a brief awkward silence, Marinette piped up again. "Oh! And how have you been?"

Now that was a question. Since he knew better than to bring up work, he wasn't about to tell Marinette about all of the trouble he had had this week with a shipment of flowers that was supposed to come in a couple days ago that wouldn't be there until Monday. He couldn't express his frustration that said flowers were supposed to be for orders that he either had to reschedule or cancel due to lack of supplies. He wasn't about to mention his worry that this would negatively affect his business.

Instead, he told her that, aside from some minor upsetting episodes this week, he was good. He didn't want his friend to worry about something he couldn't fully explain, especially since she had no idea what his business was even in and it would take all day to explain which was why they had the "No Shop Talk" rule, but it was difficult to follow sometimes. Since Nino worked for him and Alya lived with Nino, those two were pretty up to date with what he was doing for a living. But Marinette? He knew she was too busy to meet up more often, but sometimes he wished that they could just make lunch plans and talk. She was, after all, one of his closest friends and a tried and true problem solver. It would be great to get some advice from her about such things every once in a while.

Immediately after he finished his bachelor's degree in business and physics, Adrien had talked to his father about potentially stepping down from so much modelling and opening a flower shop of all things. The idea had been rolling around in his mind since he started university, and by the time he finished it was a fully bloomed business plan. It all started when he was almost mobbed one day and had to duck inside the first business he found, a flower shop. The place had a completely different atmosphere from anything else he had experienced. The shop itself was both beautiful and serene, a place someone could come to simply relax among carefully cultivated nature. It felt safe, perfect. It was home.

From then on, he had researched plant care in his spare time. He balanced potential costs and profit sheets for fun. He even thought about what his "hypothetical" shop could be called. One day, as he was planning different kinds of arrangements for different holidays, Nino told him that he needed to chill and open up shop for real.

Surprisingly enough, Gabriel had agreed. If Adrien promised to uphold some modelling and represent _Gabriel_ at events, then he was more than happy to provide his son with what he called "business practice." It was apparently important to him that Adrien set out on his own and learned how to build a business from the ground up. Besides, it would be useful to get a small discount on flowers for galas and the like.  Even though it was pretty difficult to decipher how Gabriel actually felt, Adrien suspected that the real reason was that his father actually wanted him to have something that was completely him.

Of course, the tricky thing had been making sure that his, er, "fans" didn't mob the place. While he wanted to get a lot of business, part of the appeal of the flower shop was the peaceful atmosphere, something that would be lost the instant he was recognized. The solution had actually come from the landlord from the storefront he rented, Plagg. The tall, lean, cheese-smelling man had overheard Adrien worrying about the situation to Nino and suggested that they mask themselves.

"Another store I rent to does that," he explained in that lazy, almost bored tone his voice always had, "You could make it the neighborhood 'thing.'"

As strange as it was to imagined a masquerade in a flower shop, Adrien took the idea ran with it. Now, every day he went to work as Chat Noir, owner of _Miraculous Arrangements_. The miracle was that his father agreed to invest in the place, but Adrien decided against informing his customers of that little tidbit.

Building a business was hard, but Adrien had a feeling that Marinette would understand. Not only was she aiming to eventually set up her own fashion brand, but she had also grown up helping out in a small family business. Picking her brain about the day to day operations of how a shop should be run could prove to be valuable, but he wasn't about to bother her when she was so busy.

He watched Marinette's face twist into one of concern, which he had been trying so hard to prevent. Another awkward silence ensued. Unsure of what to say, he opened his mouth hoping the right words would fall out and reassure her. Luckily, however, he was interrupted by the return of Alya and Nino.

"They'll bring us the drinks when they're ready," Alya explained. Marinette simply glared at her.

"So what's the occasion?" Adrien asked, completely oblivious to Marinette's expression, "Usually you guys would argue over split seconds to get out of paying the tab."

Nino blushed. "W-well, actually, there is something worth celebrating."

Alya stuck her left hand out toward Marinette and Adrien and beamed. There, right on the finger next to her pinkie, was a modest yet beautiful ruby ring. Upon seeing their shocked expressions, she looked downright giddy.

"That's right, ladies and gentlemen!" Alya announced proudly, "We're engaged!"


	2. More Exposition?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As friends part ways, we get the chance to meet the wonderful crew of Lucky Charm Tattoos. Plus, Alya comes up with a really entertaining plan.
> 
> ...Well, entertaining for her, anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, I am back from the dead to bring you more of this AU.

The brief moment of shock quickly melted into celebration.

"It's about time!" Adrien exclaimed, giving a fistbump to the groom-to-be.

"Congratulations, you two!" Marinette joined in, practically launching herself across the table at Alya and bracketing the journalist in a bear hug. "This is amazing!"

Alya grinned and released one of her arms from Marinette's grip to ruffle her hair. "I'm glad you think so, because I was hoping you'd be my maid of honor."

Only Alya, as skilled as she was in Marinette-speak, would have been able to decipher the jubilant babbling that came from her best friend. When Marinette finally pulled away, there were tears of joy in her eyes. Alya smiled and rolled her eyes good-naturedly. Marinette could always be counted on to have an over-the-top reaction when her friends were happy, and it was definitely an endearing quality. Sometimes you need someone to be as excited as you are, and Marinette sure delivered in that regard.

Nino grinned goofily at his fiance, then turned to face Adrien. "Of course, you'll be my best man, dude."

The blond laughed and stood to give a gallant bow. "I'd be honored."

"So when do you want the wedding?" Marinette asked, quickly switching over to planning mode, "What location do you think would be best? We can get a good deal at my parent's shop for the cake. What about the dress? We could probably get a deal on a dress at Gabriel. Or I could always design if you want! And of course we'll need-"

Alya cut her off with a laugh. "Chill out Marinette! We only got engaged a couple of days ago. There will be plenty of time to figure that stuff out later. Right now I just want to sit back and relax with my two best buds and my favorite fiance. Sound good?"

"Fine," Marinette conceded, "But don't think I won't be calling you later to discuss engagement party details."

Adrien smiled at the idea of a party. It seemed like this wedding might be the perfect chance to get to spend more time with Marinette, especially if they were the Best Man and Maid of Honor. He knew that Marinette was the type to give her all to anything she did, it was one of the things he liked most about her. If he were having a wedding, he'd definitely want her help in planning it. Granted, first he would have to get a girlfriend, and it seemed like that was hardly likely. Still, he was confident that Marinette would make this the best possible wedding. She was amazing like that.

They spent most of their time together joking about the ups and downs of Alya and Nino's relationships. Adrien teased Nino about how nervous he had been when he had a crush on Marinette, but told Marinette that his crush was on Alya. Alya remembered Marinette's countless and horribly concealed plans to trap her together with Nino. Nino laughed as he recalled actually falling for Alya as he kept up the facade just to spend more time with Marinette, which apparently backfired in the best possible way. Meanwhile, Marinette brought up how uncharacteristically nervous Alya had been and the freakout that ensued when the journalist finally realized that she returned Nino's feelings.

Then there were dates. Ones where they dragged Adrien and Marinette along to, as Adrien put it, "watch them make kissy faces at each other." There was the picnic date where both of them thought the other was bringing the food, so they wound up with only plastic cutlery and paper plates and wound up getting pastries from the Dupain-Cheng's bakery. At another time, there had been a date going ice skating that was cut short by their friends Kim and Alix racing around the rink, causing Nino to fall and break his arm. Alya had teased him for weeks about how he had asked her to "kiss it better" when he was hopped up on pain meds.

It was nice to simply sit and swap stories about their times as kids. They talked for a few hours, reminiscing about how things used to be. They talked about Adrien's dad and how protective he was, and about Marinette's terms as class president. There were the nights that they spent stargazing on Marinette's balcony, or the video game tournaments they had in Adrien's room, or the shows Nino had. Of course their more interesting adventures had always been trying to keep Alya from killing herself as she pursued different leads from her stories.

All too soon, however, it was time to return to the real world. Business could only wait for so long after all. Before they went their separate ways, they made sure to set the plan for their next outing.

"If this weather keeps up, we should go on a picnic at the park," Adrien suggested. Everyone else agreed, and so it was set. They left the little cafe with smiles on their faces, the warm glow of friendship that often follows such quality time together held securely in their hearts.

* * *

 The weekend had come to be nothing but a word to Marinette. On Saturdays and Sundays she usually worked on her own designs before she had her shift at _Lucky Charm Tattoos_. She decided to grab a quick something to eat before she put on her mask and made her way to the parlor about half an hour early.

When Alya had first proposed the idea of Marinette becoming a tattoo artist, the designer had been pretty apprehensive. Now that she had been at it for a few months, however, she had found that her second place of work had become a bit of a sanctuary for her. The atmosphere was one of a peaceful sort of enchantment.

The owner, Tikki, was a petite Chinese woman in her late 30s with large blue eyes and short red hair that had a single black streak in it. Her face seemed rounded compared to Marinette's angular one, and it seemed to accentuate the joy that the small woman exuded. To work she usually wore a red halter sundress that showed off the intricate geometric design in black with splashes of red she had tattooed on her back. Marinette had asked her about it once, but Tikki had just given her a wink and said it was an "ancient Chinese secret."

Tikki was the only one around the parlor to not wear a mask. In a way, the absence of the mask seemed to signify her as their leader. The rest of them had varying masks and and identities to go with them. It was a sort of tradition for them to all design their masks and figure out a name to go with them. Alya had chosen a simple orange mask with a sharp nose and black edges that extended out over her temples. Around the shop she was known as Rouge. Another coworker known as Stormy had a purple mask with white lining and lightning bolts next to her eyes. Both of them were receptionists, with Stormy working during the day and Alya at night, although Alya had also decided to create a blog for the shop to "drum up business." Tikki loved the idea, although Marinette had a feeling that Alya just wanted a publication she could control.

One of the older artists had a plain black domino mask and was known as Copycat. Rumor had it that he could copy any design after only seeing it once. The only other male employee was Marinette's old school friend Nathaniel, although around the parlor he went by Illustrator. His mask was mostly black with bits of purple on the edges and at the nose faded in while the bottom part had jagged shapes underneath each eye, almost like two lightening bolts were extended from it. Currently he and Marinette were on different shifts, as they were both part time. Copycat and Tikki were the only two who worked fulltime.

For her own mask, Marinette's was red with black spots, and her scoop-neck short-sleeved shirt matched it. In her younger years she had always felt unlucky, and now that she was an adult with her own future in her hands she felt that it was time to change that. Around here she was Ladybug, spotted artist extraordinaire. She had actually earned a reputation for herself with her watercolor tattoos and unique designs, although she had a pretty good hand for blackwork as well.

Being around such amazing body art was fascinating, and Marinette had a feeling it wouldn't be too long before she got a tattoo herself. Still, she couldn't decide what she would want done. Each of the shop's artists had their own favored styles. Copycat was amazing with neo-traditional and new school art. Illustrator worked well with dot work and surreals. Tikki's tattoos, however, were usually her favorite. Her specialties were asian and trash polka tattoos, and every so often she would blend the styles together to make some truly fascinating pieces. Marinette often wondered where she got the inspiration for her work.

Wanting to get some new designs sketched out before her shift officially started, "Ladybug" quickly threw her hair up into a bun atop her head. Since she had started university she usually wore it down, however in this line of work she liked to have it up and out of the way. The fact that it further disguised her identity was an added bonus. She sat down with her pencils and sketch book and began to let her mind wander.

One of the best parts of this job was that it seemed to sharpen Marinette's creativity. Designing clothing was completely different from designing a tattoo. Tattoos were not focused on flattering silhouttes or concerned with how potential fabrics might hang. But designing tattoos, she found, influenced new ideas she had for her work. It helped free her from her self-imposed "rules" of fashion, and her latest clothing designs grew more unique and interesting as a result.

As her gaze wandered her surroundings, Marinette noticed a splash of vibrant colors colors resting in a vase on Rouge's desk and smiled. Flowers. Gorgeous blooms of red-tipped orange roses, white chrystanthemums, sunflowers, and orange lillies were arranged in a beautiful array of foliage. It was far from the first time that she had noticed such a display on her friend's desk. Truth be told, the bouquets had been serving quite nicely as a source of inspiration for her watercolor designs. Obviously they must have been a gift from Nino, and Ladybug loved how the flowers complimented Rouge's personal style.

Naturally, Alya noticed Marinette staring at her desk display. She smirked. "Jealous, Ladybug?"

Broken from her reverie, Marinette blinked for a moment. Then, seeing the teasing look on Alya's face, she frowned. "Very funny. I was just wondering about how those colors might work for a new design."

Alya laughed. "Of course you were. It's always about designing with you, isn't it?"

"Please. You'll be happy about that when you see your wedding gown," Marinette teased back, then paused for a moment, thinking once more about the bouquet. "Speaking of the wedding, were did those flowers come from?"

"From Nino," Alya responded, "I _think_ he might have a thing for me."

Marinette glared at her friend. "Yes, but where has he been getting them? We do need a florist for the ceremony, after all."

Alya gave her a blank stare for a moment before realizing one very crucial thing:  
Marinette had no idea what Adrien did for a living.

A sly smile stretched over her face as she quickly formulated a plan. Even if it didn't pan out as she hoped, it could at the very least provide a source of entertainment for her and Nino for months. That would be particularly welcome when all of the wedding plans got stressful.

"Actually, he gets these flowers from a place pretty close to here. We could check it out after work if you want," she suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Marinette agreed to her friend's delight.

"Excellent," Alya said, holding back a devious grin that was threatening to break out across her face, "Just be sure to wear your mask."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been so long since I have written words, and I'm kind of on new meds that put me into a lot of brain fog, so I apologize if this chapter isn't any good. I'm hoping to learn and grow as the story unfolds!
> 
> Anyways, the chapters should be faster paced from here on out. There was just... a LOT of set-up to do and I wanted to get to the good stuff already.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed this at least somewhat! I'm going to go sleep and not deal with life now.


End file.
